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Government shutdown about to end meals for senior citizens in Washtenaw County

100113_NEWS_MealsonWheels_M.JPG

Meals on Wheels volunteer Betty Brodnan hands Jamie Thebert a meal as fellow volunteer Steven Ledford stands by as they deliver a meals to a residents at Towne Center Place in Ypsilanti on Monday, October 1, 2013.
(Melanie Maxwell | The Ann Arbor News )

The impact of the federal government shutdown is continuing to widen in Washtenaw County, as senior citizen programs face having to stop serving meals and low-income housing commissions have had their funding pulled.

Several centers and agencies will be stopping their programs for senior citizens after Thursday.

Debbie Aue, recreation coordinator for the Ypsilanti Township Community Center at 2025 E. Clark Road, said the center's senior lunch program that is used by close to 900 people each month will shut down Friday.

The Ypsilanti Senior Center at 1015 N. Congress has been impacted by the federal shutdown.Brianne Bowen | The Ann Arbor News

"There has to be something to be done to get this moving in the right direction," Aue said. "To me, it just doesn't make any sense. We're one of the largest sites in the county and what's really sad is that many of the people that come, this is their only hot meal for the day."

Andrea Plevek, Human Services Manager for the Washtenaw County Community and Economic Development office, said the county, which receives a grant to fund its Senior Nutrition Program, was told to prioritize how the remaining funds are used during the shutdown and to put a higher priority on people who cannot leave their homes.

The county received a $600,000 grant last year to fund the program that encompasses the Congregant Meals Program and the Home Delivered Meals Program. The congregant meals are typically served at senior centers, and the home delivered meals are mainly provided through the Meals on Wheels program.

An employee at the Ann Arbor Senior Center said the center's food program has been impacted as well, but the director was not available for further comment.

Like many other communities in the area, Ypsilanti
Township has neighborhoods that have been hurt by the economy in recent years and the shutdown only magnifies the issue, Aue said.
"It does hurt them," Aue said. "(For) 50 to 75 percent of the people that eat meals here, it's a necessity."

Carol Presley, senior coordinator at the Pittsfield Township Senior Center, said its lunch program would stop after Thursday.

"What we're hoping is that the food program gets back on next week," Presley said. "The funding goes through the end of this week, but after that we would be done. It's going to be a big loss for the folks that need it."

Presley said the center, located at 701 W. Ellsworth Road, would begin calling those who signed up for lunches by the end of this week to let them know the program is canceled indefinitely until funding begins again.

The center has 1,800 members and feeds about 25 senior citizens daily.

The Ypsilanti Senior Center at 1015 N. Congress is also in danger of shutting down its senior lunch program on Friday, said Director Monica Prince.

Jennifer Michalak, Director of the Milan Senior Center at 45 Neckel Court, said the center's program would no longer be funded by the federal grant beginning on Thursday, but it will continue its program with its own funds.

Plevek said the Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels program would only be guaranteed funding for the next two weeks.

"Washtenaw County has stepped up to provide continuous service," Plevek said. "We continued service for the first two weeks, but if we are still in a shutdown state, we will be shutting down the program."

Plevek said other county funded programs such as its utility assistance program is being impacted.

"Washtenaw County is doing everything it can to continue providing these critical services for citizens despite huge uncertainty from the federal government," Plevek said.

Housing Commission impact

The shutdown is also affecting Washtenaw County housing commissions, according to officials.

Ypsilanti Housing Commission Executive Director Zachary Fosler said the shutdown has disrupted the YHC’s primary funding stream — grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"We are unable to draw our regular monthly operating subsidy from HUD," Fosler said. "At the present moment, however, the YHC has sufficient cash reserves to support its regular operations.

The commission serves the Ypsilanti area as well as some locations outside of the county.

Representatives could not be immediately reached for the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, but the county's economic development office said that commission has been impacted as well.

The shutdown has also cut off technical assistance from the Detroit Field Office of HUD to the YHC staff, Fosler said.

Looking for solutions

Alison Foreman, executive director of the Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels, said the loss of funding would be detrimental to the organization.

"Our clients are homebound and they do have mobility issues and have less of an opportunity to get out," Foreman said. "We serve anywhere between 175 and 200 people a day.

"They (the county) has additional funding that's going to keep us going through the end of Oct. 25, but starting Oct. 28, we won't have enough money to run at peak operations. We are concerned," Foreman said.

"Most organizations like us are lucky to have $15,000 to $30,000 in reserves," Foreman said. "In a general time period we pay about $14,000 for meals a month. If we had no money coming in, and we had to take out of our reserves, we couldn't sustain that for very long."

Prince said the Ypsilanti Senior Center has been in talks with Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels to discuss a long-term plan in case the shutdown continues.

"If Meals on Wheels shuts down, their people are desperate," Prince said. "… With people on extremely fixed incomes, this is really important for them."

The situation could get even worse, she said. If a compromise to raise the nation’s borrowing limit is not reached, some media reports have indicated Social Security checks could be at risk.

Foreman said Meals on Wheels operates on a nearly $340,000 budget per year for its food services in order to provide more than 1,000 people with meals a month.

"We are very efficient with our funds," Foreman said. "Ninety-four cents of every dollar donated goes to feeding these seniors. More than 80 percent of our clients would have a hard time providing meals for themselves."

Ypsilanti Mayor Paul Schreiber said he is in "disbelief" over how the shutdown has affected the Ypsilanti area.

"As mayor, I can't imagine shutting down the city over a political issue, let alone a whole country," Schreiber said. Right now I am numb with disbelief at the state of our federal government.

"The seniors are being affected, the Ypsilanti Housing Commission is being affected. The people that need the help the most are being affected.”

Katrease Stafford covers Ypsilanti for The Ann Arbor News. Reach her at KatreaseStafford@mlive.com or 734-623-2548 and follow her on Twitter.